Facebook app for Android update

Buried within the latest update for Facebook’s Android app is a feature that is causing growing concern among some users.

In the App permissions menu, the site asks for access to 'Read your text messages (SMS and MMS)', and to 'Add or modify calendar events and send email to guests without owners’ knowledge.'

The app update began gradually rolling out to users and handsets at the end of last year, and a number of concerned members have complained these new permissions are intrusive and unnecessary.

'If you add a phone number to your account, ' explained Facebook, 'This allows us to confirm your phone number automatically by finding the confirmation code that we send via text message.'

The reason the site says it needs to add or modify calendar events is so Facebook events can be seen in the user’s phone’s calendar.

Facebook continued: ‘We realise some of these permissions sound scary, so we’d like to provide more info about how we use them.

‘Keep in mind that this list doesn’t include all of the Android permissions we request or all of our uses of those permissions.'

For example, confirmation codes are sent via SMS, yet the permissions also grants access to multimedia messages and the reason for this isn't explicitly given.

One member complained directly to Facebook support: ‘It's already too much that the app was already apparently collecting people's phone numbers without their permission. I'm sorry, but no, Facebook, you don't get to read my texts.’

Facebook's help pages, pictured, state permission is needed for when users add a phone number to an account. This lets the site confirm the number on an account automatically by scanning text messages for the confirmation code. These codes are sent via SMS, so this doesn't explain the need for access to MMS'

Another posted his concerns on : ‘Facebook gathers this information from pretty much everything you feed them - that's nothing new.

The app update began rolling out to users and handsets at the end of last year, but not everyone has seen the latest updates yet

‘But now they're able to read your text messages.

At this point, it's either stick with the old version, get rid of Facebook on Android, or accept that they've got access to every one of your text messages, call log, your personal contact card, the names of whatever other apps you're using.’

Facebook Android engineer Franci Penov responded to this thread and said: ‘We require [access to text messages] so we can automatically intercept login approval SMS messages for people that have turned two-factor authentication on for their accounts, or for phone confirmation messages when you add a phone number to your Facebook account.

'Unfortunately, the Android permissions system does not allow us to specify that we would like to be able to read only SMS messages from a specific number.'

'It's also worth noting that we would love to be able to ask only for the permissions we need for the specific features particular users uses.

'However, Android does not allow permission requests on demand; we have to request all permissions that cover each feature at install time, and the users can only grant or deny all of them and have no control over individual permissions.'

Due to the gradual rollout schedule, not everyone will be able to see these new permissions yet.

However, users can check their current permissions by clicking Applications Manager in Settings and selecting Facebook. Alternatively they can open the Play Store and find the app under the Installed list.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

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